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Thursday, 9 January 2014

Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh was today briefed on India’s assessment of the military prowess
of its neighbours and the level of its military readiness to face China and
Pakistan.

The PM was also
informed about what all needed to be done to ramp up Indian facilities,
equipment and the raising of the newly approved mountain strike corps.

The PM had walked
into the military operations room, also known as the “war room”, today morning.
It is from this room that all military tactics are decided and executed on a
day-to-day basis. The room located in the “sanitised” office of Director
General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia is scanned for snooping
devices and is the most secure facility in South Block where the PM’s office is
located and so is the Defence Ministry.

According to
sources, the PM addresses the top tri-services brass at the Combined
Commanders' Conference annually, but rarely comes to the Army Headquarters for
such briefings.

At the briefing,
the PM was joined by Defence Minister AK Antony and Chief of Indian Army
General Bikram Singh. Though the military establishment was tight-lipped over
the content of the briefing and its agenda, sources said such briefings had
happened in the past but with no fixed periodicity.

“Matters which the Army
believes are important must have been discussed and flagged to the PM,” a
senior functionary said.

The armed forces said they
feared a spill over from Afghanistan once the forces start pulling out from the
country in June this year. It is feared that terror elements would spread in
the region, creating problems for countries such as India.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140109/nation.htm#10

Top gallantary
honour PVC caught in crossfire between demands and rules

The first ever
Param Vir Chakra (PVC) awarded to a living recipient, Hony Capt Karam Singh of
the Sikh Regiment, is caught in a crossfire between demands by the recipient's
descendants for financial assistance from the Punjab Government and the state
government's policies on grant of benefits to the war decorated.

While the family
is threatening to auction the medal to raise resources, state government
officials point out that under existing rules, a gallantry award recipient's
third generation cannot avail benefits. Karam Singh's 21-year old grandson,
Satnam Singh is demanding a job in the state government and the family has been
seeking benefits such as allotment of a gas agency or a petrol pump on the
basis of Karam Singh's award.

The PVC is the
highest award for gallantry and Karam Singh, then serving with 1 Sikh as a
Lance Naik, was decorated for his actions above and beyond the call of duty in
combating Pakistani intruders in Teethwal area of Jammu and Kashmir in 1948.

Hailing from
Mallhian village near Barnala, he was earlier decorated with the Military Medal
for valour during the Burma Campaign in World War-II. Gallantry awards and
military decorations are prized by collectors the world over and some medals
like the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest gallantry award in the Commonwealth
has fetched a price as high as £1.5 million. The medal of Capt Ishar Singh of
Hoshiarpur, the first Sikh soldier to win a Victoria Cross, had fetched £55,000
at a London auction in 1997.

Karam Singh died
in 1993 and his wife passed away few years later. State government officials
claim that Karam Singh had been given all benefits that were gallantry award
winners were entitled to under the policies applicable at that time and his
wife was also receiving pension till she was alive. They added that Satnam is
entitled to apply for a job in the state government in the category of being a
dependent of an ex-servicemen, for which there is a reservation of 13 per cent,
but he has to qualify and compete for the job within the quota.

First woman
officer in Navy race team

Lieutenant
Commander Shweta Kapur has become the first woman officer of the Indian Navy to
participate in a sailing race on the high seas. She, along with three other
officers is participating in the "Cape-2-Rio" race onboard the Indian
Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei. The race was flagged off from Cape Town in
South Africa on January 4 and will end in Rio-De Janerio, Brazil.

Commander Dilip
Donde, the first solo circumnavigator skipper of the Mhadei is leading the
team. Commander MVV Satish, the trainee skipper and Commander TGS Bedi. Lt
Commander Kapur had led the naval contingent during the last year Republic Day
parade. More than 30 boats from across the world are participating in the race.
Once the race ends at Rio, Mhadei will return to Goa. At Rio a new crew will
join the boat and it will again have a woman officer. A third crew will take
over on the return journey at Cape Town this will again will have a woman
officer. Built for the Navy in 2009 by Goa's Aquarius Fibreglass, the 17.1
meter long, 23 tonne boat has logged over 80,000 nautical miles.

5 Sikh's role
cited as example to recruits

The role played by
Fifth Battalion of the Sikh Regiment, that won accolades during the flood
relief operations at Uttarakahnd in June last year, was cited as an example for
a pep-talk to new soldiers during the passing parade at the Sikh Regimental
Centre at Ramgarh on January 4, when 269 young boys from Punjab joined the rank
and file after attestation.

Lt Gen GS
Shergill, Colonel of the Sikh Regiment, reviewed the parade and called upon the
soldiers to follow the Regiment's motto of Naam, Namak and Nishan. At the
special Sainik Sammelan, the Colonel cited the example of 5 Sikh that was among
the first responders and worked tirelessly, physically lifting the old,
disabled and injured to the nearest helipads or bringing them to nearby relief
camps.

Russian award for
BrahMos chief

The successful
Indo-Russian joint venture to develop the BrahMos cruise missile, has led to Dr
A Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos
Aerospace being conferred the "Order of Friendship" by the Russian
President, Vladimir V Putin last month. The Order of Friendship is a state decoration
of the Russian Federation for foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts
are aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its
people, strengthening peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding.

Dr Pillai is also
Chief Controller, Defence Research and Development Organisation and Chairperson
of the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140109/edit.htm#6

Making sense of
the Kishenganga final award

Bharat H Desai and
Balraj K Sigh

“The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)
was a great achievement of Pakistan and India and of the World Bank, and it
remains so… and these proceedings are an illustration of its continuing
vitality," said Judge Stephen M Schwebel, chairman of the seven-member Court
of Arbitration (CoA) in the Indus Waters Kishenganga Arbitration that delivered
the final award on December 20, 2013.

The court, based at the
Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague, has adjudicated upon the dispute
concerning the Kishenganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP) raised by Pakistan. It
has conceded that the right of India to divert waters from the Kishenganga
(called Neelum in Pakistan) for power generation is protected by the 1960 IWT.
However, it added a caveat that this right is not absolute and India is under
an obligation to maintain the minimum flow to be released downstream from the
KHEP dam at 9 cumecs.

The court has not accepted
India's argument for the usage of the drawdown technique for flushing sediment
accumulated in the reservoir except in the case of “unforeseen emergency”. The
award is a landmark for legal governance of shared trans-boundary water
resources. The dispute has raised important questions on the relevance of the
IWT; model of development adopted by building large dams and reservoirs for
hydro-electric power with environmental consequences; application of
international environmental obligations and adequacy of existing international
courts; and tribunals to settle complex water disputes.

Indus Waters Treaty

Despite the history of
animosity, trust deficit and inhospitable hydro-political climate, India and
Pakistan remained engaged in the trans-boundary Indus Basin water-sharing
cooperative framework through the IWT. The treaty regime has survived wars,
shrill calls for abrogation, political instability and helped, to some extent,
in containing water disagreements. It has also served as an important function
of allocation of river waters as well as providing an inbuilt framework for the
settlement of disputes. The Baglihar Dam case, referred to the neutral expert,
was a testimony of its effectiveness and resilience.

The Kishenganga case marks the
first instance in the history of the IWT when a CoA was constituted. The
proceedings have arisen out of a dispute concerning the implementation of the
treaty in relation to the construction and operation of the KHEP. The primary
subject of the arbitration was the KHEP, currently under construction by India
on the Kishenganga, a tributary of the Jhelum. The KHEP is designed to generate
power by diverting water from a dam site on the Kishenganga (within Gurez
Valley, an area of higher elevation) to the Bonar Nullah, another tributary of
the Jhelum (lower in elevation and located near Wullar Lake) through a system
of tunnels, with moving water powering turbines having a capacity of 330 MW.

The dispute

For the management of
sedimentation in the reservoir, India intended to employ the technique of
drawdown flushing that consists of drawing the water in the reservoir down to a
level close to that of the riverbed by releasing water through low-level
outlets in the dam. These were the issues raised by Pakistan. In view of the
technical nature of the dispute, the court visited project sites at
Neelum-Jhelum and Kishenganga. It highlights difficulties surrounding the
technical nature of the disputes and perceived lack of expertise for the
adjudication of such projects having environmental consequences. It heard the
matter in 2012 and gave a partial award on February 18, 2013.

The partial award provided
that India may divert water from the Kishenganga for power generation and
deliver the water released below the power station into the Bonar Nullah. The
issues of India's obligation to maintain a minimum flow of water in the
Kishenganga; and usage of drawdown flushing to an extent that would entail
depletion of the reservoir below dead storage level (portion of storage not
used for operational purposes) became highly contentious during the
proceedings.

The court decided to do a
tightrope walk to ensure the balance of interest for both parties. It conceded
priority right to India since it crystallised KHEP before Pakistan resorted to
the NJHEP. Still such a right to develop a hydroelectric project has been
sought to be circumscribed by ensuring a minimum flow in the river and
rejection of the drawdown flushing technique.

India sought clarification
concerning the permissible use of drawdown flushing technique in the future
run-of-river projects on the western rivers (allocated to Pakistan). The court
stated: “(T)he prohibition on the reduction below dead storage level of the
water in the reservoirs of run-of-river plants on the western rivers, except in
the case of unforeseen emergency, is of general application.”

The moratorium issued in the
award would be applicable to all future run-of-the-river projects to be carried
out by India, sowing seeds of potential difference.

Permanent Indus Commission

The court analysed the data
with regard to the impacts of a range of minimum flows to be discharged at the
KHEP dam. It decided "a minimum flow criterion of 9 cumecs at KHEP is a
relatively severe criterion with respect to environmental flow, but would nevertheless
be sufficient to maintain the natural flows". It has recognised that a
degree of uncertainty is inherent in any attempt to predict environmental
implications such as the flows in the Kishenganga. In its view, the appropriate
mechanism for the reconsideration of minimum flow, exchange of data and
monitoring of the parties' usage on tributaries of the Indus is the Permanent
Indus Commission (PIC).

The ball is back into the
court of the IWT mechanism of PIC. That brings under scanner the efficacy of
the IWT in resolving disputes. The final verdict vindicates the obligation for
peaceful settlement of disputes enshrined under the UN Charter. However, the
growing number of disputes arising under the IWT underscores distrust between
the parties. Ironically, Pakistan's invoking of the IWT mechanism shows its
inability to resolve bilateral disputes through negotiations and
ineffectiveness of PIC that led the matter to highly expensive international
arbitration proceedings even as both countries are facing extreme poverty.

It raises a question on the
working of PIC to resolve disagreement. Some perceived challenges could arise
due to the pressure of population and developmental needs as well as shrinking
water availability in the Indus Basin due to a host of factors including
climate-induced changes. But it does not affect the utility and effectiveness
of the IWT as it provides multiple methods to resolve issues.

It is time to use cutting-edge
technologies and hardware such as remote sensing satellites and geographical
information systems that play a vital role in the planning, construction and
maintenance of such projects. It could help in jettisoning rumours, ignorance
and emotions from taking hold in the absence of hard data.

Losing the vision

The fact that parties have
turned, time and again, to the IWT mechanisms - and not the use of force -
itself speaks volumes for the existing legal governance of Indus waters under
the treaty. However, complaints by Pakistan that India is violating the IWT and
its efforts to drag the matter to an international forum emanates from deeply
entrenched distrust and compulsions of domestic politics. The IWT has withstood
the test of time in showcasing the spirit of cooperation.

Many demand re-negotiation of
the IWT, which they argue is the need of the hour (after working for 53 years)
under changed circumstances. Still, considering the current realities, it is a
remote possibility. It is hoped that wiser counsel will prevail to resolve
water disputes in the larger interest of the teeming millions on either side.

In order to harness the huge
hydro potential of shared water courses in the Indus Basin, both countries
shall have to learn from world history and rise to the occasion to consider
joint designing and implementation of projects that take a holistic
hydrological view and maintain environmental integrity of the basin without
compromising developmental needs.

The edict

* The award is a landmark for
legal governance of shared trans-boundary water resources.

* India's right to divert
waters from the Kishenganga for power generation is protected by the 1960 Indus
Waters Treaty. But it is under obligation to maintain the minimum flow to be
released downstream from KHEP dam at 9 cumecs.

* Argument by India regarding
the use of the drawdown technique for flushing sediment accumulated in the
reservoir has been rejected. It can be done only in the case of an emergency.

* The dispute has raised
important questions on the relevance of the Indus treaty; model of development
by building large dams and reservoirs with environmental consequences;
application of international environmental obligations; and adequacy of
existing international courts to settle water disputes.

The writers are Chairman of
Centre for International Legal Studies at JNU, New Delhi; and Executive
Director, Centre for Advanced Study on Courts & Tribunals, Amritsar,
respectively.

NEW DELHI: With an eye firmly on China, India
and Japan on Monday decided to "further consolidate and strengthen their
strategic and global partnership" in the defence arena through measures
ranging from regular joint combat exercises and military exchanges to
cooperation in anti-piracy, maritime security and counter-terrorism.

This came during
the meeting between defence minister A K Antony and his Japanese counterpart
Itsunori Onodera, who is on a visit here till January 8. "The two
ministers extensively and frankly exchanged ideas regarding regional and global
security challenges, as well as bilateral defence cooperation and exchanges.
They shared views on issues relating to the peace, stability and prosperity of
the region," said an official.

Onodera also
briefed Antony on Japan's National Security Strategy and the National Defence
Program Guidelines, which were adopted in December 2013. Both India and Japan
have long been wary of the increasingly assertive behaviour of China,
especially in the contentious South China Sea, as well as the rapid
modernisation of the People's Liberation Army.

India and Japan
will hold their third "2 plus 2" Dialogue and fourth Defence Policy
Dialogue in New Delhi this year, along with the third bilateral exercise
between the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force and Indian Navy to be held in
Japanese waters. The Indian defence minister will also visit Japan later this
year.

The two ministers
agreed to promote exchanges on UN Peacekeeping Operations between Japan
Peacekeeping Training and Research Centre, Joint Staff College (JPC), Central
Readiness Force of Japan Ground Self Defence Force (JGSDF) and Centre for UN
Peacekeeping (CUNPK) of the Indian Army.

The two sides will
also conduct "expert exchanges" in counter-terrorism, humanitarian
assistance/disaster relief between the Indian Army and Japan Ground Self
Defence Force (JGSDF). The possibility of conducting staff talks between Japan
Air Self-Defence Force and Indian Air Force as well as professional exchanges
of test-pilots, flight safety experts and others is also on the cards.

New Delhi: Irked
over being held up in traffic by Army Chief's security, Union Minister Jairam
Ramesh on Wednesday criticised the "ridiculous" VIP security system
in the country, which according to him is "state within a state within a
state" where there is no accountability.

The Rural
Development Minister said he would write to Defence Minister AK Antony, who
doesn't keep a security ring around him, about the military police taking over
Delhi Police's duty and clearing the routes for service chiefs when they move
around the national capital. Ramesh, who never uses a red beacon on his
vehicle, said his car was blocked near Army Chief's residence this afternoon by
military police when he was going to Teen Murti to attend a meeting. "It
is ridiculous... Mr Antony does not do this. There is no security to Antony at
all. And they (Military) have their own policemen to regulate traffic. That is
wrong. Delhi Police should regulate traffic... I am going to write about this
to Antony," the Minister said. Ramesh said once he was blocked by military
security in the city when he was walking to his home after work. "It was
done for the smooth passage of the Army Chief's convoy," said the Minister
who takes a 40-minute walk to his official residence in Lodhi Garden without
security after work at the Rural Development Ministry office at Krishi Bhavan
in New Delhi. "Once I was caught up in traffic because of Army Chief. Once
my traffic was held up because of the Naval chief. Once I was held up because
of Air Force chief. Once I was held up because of Chief Justice of India,"
Ramesh said, criticising the VIP security system. Ramesh also criticised the
way the traffic is being blocked for clearing the routes for convoy of the
President and the Prime Minister. "Traffic should not be held for anybody.
I feel even the traffic hold up for Prime Minister, and the President are far
too long. I think the number of cars that accompany Prime Minister and
President can easily be reduced by half. VIP security is state within a state
within a state. No questions are asked. No accountability," the Minister
said.

Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh today reviewed the situation on borders with Pakistan and China
and operational preparedness of the Army and other two services at the Army
Headquarters here.

Singh visited the
'war room' of the Directorate of Military Operations where he was given a
detailed briefing on the preparedness of the armed forces, Defence Ministry
officials said here.

The Prime Minister
was briefed about the situation along both the eastern and the western borders
and the operational readiness of the armed forces there, they said.

The Prime Minister
addresses the top tri-services brass at the Combined Commanders' Conference
annually but rarely comes to the Army Headquarters for such briefings, sources
said.

The visit comes at
a time when media reports have suggested that Chinese troops have been carrying
out frequent incursions into the areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)
in the northern and northeastern states.

The armed forces
are also gearing up for enhancing security preparedness in the backdrop of the
US pull out from Afghanisatn after which it is being feared that terror
elements will spread out in the region creating problems for countries such as
India.

Indian Defense
Procurement Moves Forward Despite Delays With Some Contracts

With the
cancellation of the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal and delays in acquiring
the medium multi role combat aircraft (MMRCA) from Dassault, the Indian defense
establishment is reeling under concerns that important projects maybe be
further delayed.

However, despite
delays, India has reached major milestones with the indigenous supersonic
fighter aircraft LCA-Tejas achieving its Initial Operation Clearance and the
army taking delivery of its first indigenous helicopter, the Rudra ALH from HAL
(Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) in 2013.

According to
Defenseworld.net research report on Indian procurement, the Indian air force
leads with $31.3 billion in procurements in the past five years, followed by
the navy with $7.5 billion and the Army with $4.2 billion.